


Part of His World

by TheDVirus



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College, Field Trip, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friendship/Love, Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Male Friendship, Male Slash, Nygmobblepositivity, Nygmobblepot, True Love, nygmobblepotvalentine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-24 01:09:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9693209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDVirus/pseuds/TheDVirus
Summary: For the Nygmobblepot Valentine's Day Exchange!As per a request from @ji-chi.AU College Roommates Oswald and Edward visit Gotham Aquarium together. Oswald is practicing for a big performance in 'The Little Mermaid'. Only problem is he's never kissed anyone before. And Ed has something important to confess to him...





	

‘An aquarium’, Oswald said, running a hand over his face, ‘How did I not guess that?!’

‘Don’t be discouraged. ‘Where can you walk under water without getting wet?’ could refer to any number of places’, Ed said consolingly.

Oswald scrunched up the piece of paper Ed had given him back at their dorm detailing the riddle and threw it in a nearby trashcan.

‘Did you really have to add the ‘Let’s head out just for the ‘halibut’’ part at the bottom?’ Oswald asked, ‘Your thing is brainteasers not jokes’.

They both flashed their student IDs at the ticket booth qualifying them for free entry before heading inside. Gotham City University was a proud sponsor of the aquarium. 

‘I dabble’, Ed grinned, ‘I just thought you could use a break from reading that script over and over again. It’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ musical, not the Dead Sea Scrolls: it’s not going to offer up some ancient secret the longer you stare at it’.

‘I just want to make sure I know it before curtain opens next week’, Oswald shrugged, ‘We can’t all be geniuses with ‘Whippleburn Prizes for Excellence’ like you’.

Ed rubbed his arm where Oswald had teasingly jabbed it with his elbow. He couldn’t help but smile. The award for his final dissertation, _‘What’s Wrong With This Right? Preventing False Positives at Crime Scenes’_ had been a welcome recognition of his abilities. It was only logical he had been the one to receive the prize (he was top of his class after all) but he deliberately hadn’t said anything until he had received the official letter that morning. Celebrating his achievement was part of the reason for the afternoon’s excursion.  
When he had burst into Oswald’s room to tell him and found him staring despairingly at the same script he had been staring at for weeks, Ed had decided he and his roommate both needed and deserved a break. Some time to relax together. After all, it wasn’t as if there was anybody else Ed could (or would) share his success with.  
And Oswald had had something on his mind for weeks.  
As had Ed.

‘Consider it a research trip then’, Ed suggested, ‘An aquarium is the perfect chance to get some context for the performance right? And viewing fish has been proven to promote relaxation and introspection’.

‘Figures you would see a research trip as relaxing’.

Ed looked slightly crestfallen.

‘We can go somewhere else if-‘ he began but Oswald waved a hand.

‘I’m joking Ed’, he said reassuringly, ‘What shall we look at first?’

 

‘Did you know male emperor penguins keep their eggs warm by balancing them on their feet? Neat huh?’

Oswald nodded.

‘I did know that but only because I cheated and read the sign over there. You knew it already. As usual’.

‘I like penguins’, Ed said, leaning on the railing.

In a pit beneath them, gentoo penguins waddled or swam in their indoors habitat. The air was cool: the entire exhibit air conditioned for the penguin’s comfort.

‘Why?’ Oswald asked.  
Due to their height difference, he had to stand on tiptoe to lean on the railing beside Ed.

‘Because everybody underestimates them. They think they're just funny little birds but when you look at what they go through during those long winters, you realise how tough they are’.

 _‘And because they remind me of you’_ , he thought fondly.

‘I like them too’, Oswald said.

‘Why do you like them?’

‘Such dapper fellows aren't they?’

Ed laughed as Oswald mimicked adjusting a bow tie.

‘I forget it's okay to like something simply because it's cute’, Ed said, ‘I always overthink things’.

‘I like the way you think’, Oswald complimented, ‘I never thought about penguins like that before’.

‘This particular species mates for life you know’, Ed offered.

‘That’s nice’, Oswald commented, watching the penguins mill about and pointing to where two penguins were resting their foreheads against each other.

Ed inhaled slowly, trying to calm his heart rate.  
Tactically, he had no idea what to do next. He had hoped the ‘mating habits’ trivia would have led to a more in depth conversation rather than just polite interest on Oswald’s part! That conversation would then have hopefully led to a discussion about human mating habits at which point Ed had intended to tell Oswald that-

‘You okay Ed?’ Oswald asked, face concerned, ‘Getting cold?’

 _‘Cold feet more like’_ , Ed thought to himself but said aloud: ‘I think that’s enough cute. Time for the opposite’.

 

‘It's weird they put a restaurant behind the shark tank’, Oswald said, looking through the tank and seeing the restaurant situated on the other side, ‘It’s like the sharks can look through and choose what people they want to eat’.

Ed was impressed. Oswald had a distaste for dark places but here, surrounded by fearsome oceanic predators, you would never have noticed.  
Oswald worked well under pressure. He always had.  
Ed admired that about him. He always found it hard when things didn’t go according to plan.  
That was why this time he had made several plans, all with the same result in mind.  
The penguin exhibit hadn’t been the right moment. He knew that now. Too soon. Too open.  
Too cold for comfort.  
He had to pick his moment more carefully.  
It was alright though. They had all afternoon.

‘Lucky for them none of these sharks are known man eaters’, Ed replied, watching a nurse shark drift by, matching its unblinking gaze, ‘Who can blame them? Would you want to eat something so blatantly unhealthy?’

‘I guess not’, Oswald laughed as he directed his gaze to the overweight man Ed had pointed out in the restaurant. The pile of shrimp in front of him was so large that he appeared to be in the process of making them extinct as a species.

‘Sharks are perfect predators, you know that?’ Ed said with admiration, watching another shark swim upwards, its mouth barely hiding its jagged teeth, ‘Scientifically speaking, they are literally perfect because they've remained relatively unchanged for thousands of years. The only thing evolution did was make them smaller’. 

‘Nice of evolution to even the odds a bit’, Oswald laughed, ‘No wonder we got out of the ocean way back then with monsters like that around’.

‘I dunno. I think that one fancies some penguin’.

Oswald turned at Ed’s directing finger and to his credit managed to just about stifle a startled jump at the sight of the shark that had been stealthily approaching behind him. Oswald petulantly stuck a tongue out at it as it continued on its way.

‘Who are you calling a penguin?’ he asked Ed, feigning annoyance.

‘It's a compliment. Remember?’ Ed said, ‘Speaking of food, are you hungry?’

‘What are you thinking?’

‘I scream for it. So do you. It comes in a cone and has sprinkles too’.

Oswald tilted his head knowingly. 

‘Ice cream sounds great’, he said, ‘Bit too obvious that time Ed. You’re going easy on me’.

They headed out of the exhibit back into the warm afternoon sunshine, both blinking as their eyes tried to adjust from the darkness.  
They walked over to a nearby candy striped ice cream cart.

‘It was only obvious because my sweet tooth’s doing the thinking right now’, Ed acquiesced, reaching for his wallet.

Oswald tapped his arm.

‘I'll get it’, he offered, holding a crisp twenty in his hand before turning to the vendor, ‘Hi there, one mint choc chip and one double chocolate please’.

As the vendor began to fulfil the order, Ed smiled. Oswald had remembered his favourite flavour.

‘Okay’, Ed said, putting his wallet away, ‘Since you’re buying, I will have a chocolate stick, sprinkles and raspberry sauce’.

‘Woah! Step back we've got a rockstar over here’, Oswald said sardonically, ‘Seriously though: raspberry sauce on mint ice cream? Ew!’

‘I'm in good company then aren't I Mr ‘Last of the Big Spenders’?’ Ed retorted, ‘I’ve seen you cook: you are in no position to lecture anyone on their pallet’.

He accepted his ice cream from the vendor with a grateful nod before adding (just loud enough for Oswald to hear): ‘You owe me for the takeout we had for dinner the other night anyway’.

Oswald took his own ice cream, paid, and, once he was sure they were out of earshot of the vendor, made his defence.

‘I warned you not to make cooking my job on the chores chart’, he sniffed, taking a lick of his ice cream, ‘Not my fault you forgot what happened last time’.

Ed halted in his meticulous erosion of his ice cream to look incredulously at Oswald.

‘I assumed that ‘last time’ would be an isolated incident’, he said, ‘Those were experiment samples in the fridge, not prime cuts of steak!’

‘And doesn't it say a lot about my cooking that I couldn't tell the difference?’ Oswald said, unrepentantly taking another large bite of his ice cream.

‘You should have read the label on the box’.

‘I did! It said 'use me'. It's the unwritten law of roommates that the label should read 'don't touch' to send a clear message!’

‘I considered that. As well as the unwritten law that if something reads ‘don't touch’ even with a ‘please’, someone is bound to eat it’.

Oswald nearly choked on the chunk of cone he had been trying to swallow.

‘So you’re telling me the label you used was reverse psychology?!’ he said, once the cone was safely stored in his stomach.

‘I told you I overthink things’, Ed shrugged, ‘The label meant for me to use it in my experiment the next day’.

‘I don’t know what you’re complaining about. You still got an ‘A’ out of it’.

‘And my stomach pumped’, Ed deadpanned.

‘Which I have now paid to fill with delicious ice cream! Ice cream that you for some reason are insisting on smearing all over your face’.

Ed dabbed at his mouth with his napkin.

‘Did I get it?’

‘No. It’s there. No, there. Oh for goodness sake! Come here’. 

Ed obediently lowered his face towards Oswald and he wiped Ed’s face with the napkin.  
Ed admired how easily Oswald could touch him, apparently heedless of any connotations the arguably ‘intimate’ action may have suggested to onlookers.

‘Thanks’. 

Oswald nodded, acknowledging Ed’s thanks as he threw the balled up napkin at a trashcan a few feet away. He pumped a fist in triumph when it went in.

‘Oswald?’ Ed asked, ‘Do you….’

As his friend turned his attention from the trash can to Ed, Ed lost his nerve and changed the topic of his question. Something about those pale eyes just…made it hard to concentrate.

‘Do you ever get brain freeze?’ he finished lamely.

‘Brain freeze? No, I don’t think so’, Oswald replied, his expression an obvious indication he knew this was not what Ed had intended to ask, ‘Why?’

‘Because that ice cream barely touched the sides on the way down’, Ed joked, mentally kicking himself for his cowardice.

‘I guess I just have more stamina than you’, Oswald retorted, stretching as if to demonstrate his physical strength.

Ed laughed. Oswald was many things. Well built wasn’t one of them. He truly was like a bird; all fine bones and delicate, careful movements. So different from Ed’s lanky, awkward frame.

‘Or a bird sized brain’, Ed ribbed, taking a bite out of his cone now he had finally eaten all the ice cream on top of it.

‘Very funny’, Oswald replied, rolling his eyes, ‘Keep that up and you'll be wearing that ice cream’.

‘But you paid for it’.

‘It would be a worthwhile investment to wipe that smirk off your face’, Oswald teased.

‘Noted’, Ed conceded humbly and ate the rest of his treat while Oswald people-watched, both enjoying the companionable silence.

 

 

‘It's so soft!’ Oswald exclaimed, ‘Come on, have a feel!’

Ed smiled fondly at Oswald’s excitement. When they had first become roommates, it had taken Ed a while to pierce Oswald’s guarded exterior but once he had, it had amazed him how childlike he could be sometimes. Apparently the aquarium’s new touch tank met with Oswald’s solid approval.  
It was endearing.  
Almost…’cute’.  
Ed obliged with Oswald’s request, running a finger along the ray’s velvet like back as it swam past them.  
He was so lost in thought he stroked a finger lazily over the back of Oswald’s hand without realising it. It was a second later when his brain informed him the texture had momentarily altered beneath his fingers that he realised what he had done.  
He swivelled his head to look at Oswald and felt the bottom drop out of his stomach when he saw Oswald’s curious face with widened eyes looking up at him.  
He had noticed what Ed had done.

‘Ed?’ Oswald asked hesitantly, ‘Are-are you okay?’

‘Oswald’, Ed said, steeling himself.

It was time to address the real reason they had come there today.

‘There’s something I need to tell-‘ he began.

A musical klaxon interrupted him and made Oswald jump. They both recognised it as the signal that one of the aquarium’s many marine shows were about to begin.

‘You wanna check out the dolphin show?’ Oswald asked.

Ed detected the forced brightness in his voice. Oswald was trying to spare him embarrassment.  
What had Ed ever done to be cursed with such poor timing?!

‘I don't trust anything that smiles that much’, he replied, ‘Besides they're a classic example of anthropomorphism. That's when-‘

Oswald rolled his eyes, smiling.

‘I did English Lit Ed’, he said, ‘I know what it means. Humans say the dolphins are smiling because we like to think they're smiling but they're really not’.

‘And the sneaky little buggers kill sharks and rape other dolphins for fun. All with smiles on their faces’.

Oswald made a distasteful face. Ed bit his tongue. 

_‘Seriously?! That’s the conversation topic you pick?! Keep it together Ed!’_ he yelled at himself internally, _‘This is supposed to be romantic and you’re talking about piscine homicide?! Just tell him! Tell him what you’ve wanted to tell him for months now! Tell him that you lo-‘_

‘Point taken: never trust something that smiles all the time’.

Ed nodded glumly as Oswald’s assessment of dolphins interrupted his internal self-recrimination.

‘What do you want to do instead?’ Oswald asked politely.

Ed looked around for some inspiration and noticed the sun was beginning to set.  
With dismay, he noted the time from his wristwatch.  
Was it so late already?!  
That settled it.  
It was now or never.

‘Would you, maybe, like to find a spot for the firework show?’ he asked, ‘Away from the crowds?’

 

 

They picked an isolated spot by the lake, far from the stands used to officially watch the nightly fireworks.  
They sat together on the grass, enjoying the balmy evening air.

‘Oswald. Do you remember when we first met?’

‘You mean do I remember you drugging me by accident as soon as I walked in the door?’ Oswald asked, ‘Gotta be honest, it's a little hazy’.

Ed smiled self-consciously. Oswald had accidentally walked in through the door to introduce himself as Ed had been experimenting with a blowpipe as one of his pet projects. Containing a dart dosed with sedative.  
They had then spent the next three days getting to know each other as Ed had helped him recover from the side effects and catch up on his assignments. It seemed so long ago now.  
And they’d be graduating soon.  
Moving to another stage of their lives.  
And Ed had no desire to go alone.

‘I hope that got you an ‘’A grade’, Oswald said, heedless of Ed’s reminiscing. 

‘It did’, Ed said, face growing serious, ‘I don't think I ever apologised for it. And the hundreds other mistakes I've made. Before you came along, I've didn't exactly have...friends’.

Oswald’s heart ached as he remembered his mother’s funeral after her unexpected death two months before. Ed had shown up at the church even though Oswald hadn’t told him about it. Hadn’t wished to burden him with his grief. He had been the only attendee Oswald had known. The only one he had cried in front of. The only one who had held him and comforted him after the service. The one who had helped him smile again and stopped him from dropping out, reminding him how his mother had always loved to watch him on stage.

‘Ed, you've more than made up for whatever mistakes you made’.

He turned his face away for a moment then spoke again. He could feel Ed’s eyes on him, waiting patiently for him to continue.

‘Trust me’, Oswald added, ‘But, is-is there something bothering you? You’ve seemed…distracted today’.

‘No. I’m fine. Just…thinking’, Ed replied.

‘Earlier at the-um-touch tank-‘ Oswald began but Ed cut him off.

‘Has today helped you relax?’

‘You know what?’ Oswald said, dropping the issue, ‘I was sceptical at first but I think it really has. Ac-actually I got you something to say ‘thank you’’.

He cleared his throat and took a small package from his jacket pocket.

‘What is the only thing as sharp as Edward Nygma’s wit?’ he quoted.

‘I don’t know’, Ed shrugged, smiling fondly at the riddle. 

‘I’m not sure either but I think this might be pretty close’, Oswald said with a smile, depositing the package into Ed’s hand.

Ed unwrapped the tissue paper and exposed the gift. It was a shark tooth. He closed his fingers tightly around it, feeling the sharp edge prick his palm. Oswald must have ducked into the gift shop while Ed had been in the bathroom.  
Oswald always got him little presents like that. Just things he would come across that he found funny or thought would be helpful: a pocket notebook, a rubik’s cube keyring, a green umbrella… 

‘Being here with you I can see why someone would...find the sea fascinating’, Oswald continued, ‘It's all about seeing beneath the surface. Right?’

‘Yes’, Ed agreed, ‘Just like I can see you're worried about the musical. You shouldn’t be. You're going to be great. You know every scene’.

‘It's not just about the words’, Oswald said, looking uneasy.

‘You always make acting look effortless and I checked your singing a few days ago. It's pitch perfect!’

‘It's not about technicalities Ed. How am I supposed to be the prince when...’

‘When what?’

‘When I've never kissed anyone before?’ 

Oswald had blurted out the words as if he was afraid he was about to choke on them.

‘Never?’ Ed asked, unable to hide his surprise.

Oswald shook his head with a resigned smile.

‘We haven't even rehearsed it yet’, he said, ‘I keep making excuses to skip over it’.

‘That's what's really been worrying you?’

‘Well, yeah!’ Oswald fretted, ‘I'm supposed to be this dashing prince who's kissing the love of his life! How's the audience going to believe it if I don't?! Answer me that! I mean, I don't even like-‘

He stopped abruptly, settling instead for a wordless grunt of annoyance.  
But Ed already knew what Oswald had been going to say.  
He had suspected Oswald’s sexual orientation the moment he had walked into the dorm and their subsequent association had done nothing to contradict his assumptions.  
Even though he never dated and they had never discussed it, it was obvious Oswald was not attracted to women. It was probably why his co-star had been so understanding of his reluctance to practice kissing her.  
However, even armed with this evidence, it did not make Ed’s planned course of action any easier.  
Just because Oswald was not attracted to women did not guarantee he would be attracted to men.  
To Ed.  
Then again, Ed shouldn’t have expected the course of love to run smooth.  
He knew now that he could never admit it openly. All his other attempts that day had failed. His love of complexity would never permit the words to leave his lips.  
Oswald would have to figure it out. Ed couldn’t tell him.  
If you told someone the answer, they didn’t learn anything.

He stood up and dusted himself off, walking a few paces down to the sandy shore of the lake.  
Oswald watched him select a stone, weighing it in his palm.

‘You need to find something in the prince you can relate to’, Ed said, seemingly absent-mindedly skipping the stone across the surface of the water, ‘For example, consider the other point of view. The mermaid has never kissed anyone before. She's alone. A literal fish out of water’.

He leant down and picked up another stone. With a flick of the wrist, it too was sent skipping across the water’s surface. Red and purple ripples emanated from where it hit the water, the lake dyed rosy hues by the sunset.

‘The worst part of it is she’s so close to the one she loves and she can't say a word. So much depends on this kiss. She's probably played it over and over in her head, trying to figure out how to make it perfect. And though she’s happier than she's ever been, she's terrified’. 

Ed paused to pick up another stone. When he sensed Oswald had no intention of interrupting, he continued speaking, lining up for another throw.

‘The prince is all she has at that point. If she kisses him and he doesn't love her back, she loses everything. If she doesn't speak up, she still loses him but to someone else. Forever’.

He misjudged his aim and this time the stone sank. Ed just stood, watching the disappointing ripples until they stopped and the lake was still once more.

‘Can you imagine what that's like?’ he concluded.

Oswald continued to stare at Ed’s back, enthralled by both the story he had taken from the musical as well as the more intimate one he had just told in the one breath.

‘You...you didn't just set this up as a research trip did you?’ Oswald asked.

‘Tell me how the prince feels’, Ed said stiffly.  
He didn’t turn around.

Oswald mind raced as he struggled to articulate how the prince felt. He now knew what Ed had been trying to tell him all day. After a few desperate minutes of trying to figure out a 'clever' answer that would satisfy Ed, he gave up and just spoke from the heart.

‘The prince is...lonely and bored. He sails because he wants something more in his life but he has no idea what he's looking for. And-and then this… person shows up out of nowhere and falls into his lap’.

He clenched his fist, digging his fingers into the grass, heart pounding at the lack of response from Ed. He may as well have been a statue. Gazing out over the water. 

‘She doesn't talk but she doesn't have to’, Oswald continued, ‘They get along instantly. They spend time together and learn about each other. They’re both alone: dreamers who everyone else thinks are weird or-or crazy’.

Oswald swallowed as he felt his feelings welling up. Feelings he had tried to suppress but now, the silence seemed to be physically pulling them out of him. The vacuum begged to be filled. It was empty. Waiting.

‘After a while it doesn't matter that he can't tell the prince how he feels’, Oswald said, eyes downcast, ‘Because every time the prince looks at him he...he already knows he's in love but-but the prince has never kissed anyone before either... and-and he doesn't want to ruin the bond they have by not knowing what to do or saying something stupid to him or rushing into things-or-‘

Overcome with his emotions and sensing his communication skills beginning to falter, he raised his head, anticipating a reaction from Ed.  
He saw that Ed had turned around and was looking right at him with searching eyes.  
Hopeful eyes.

‘Why are you looking at me like-‘ Oswald began but stopped as understanding dawned.

A mild breeze blew between them.

‘Oh’, Oswald sighed, feeling oddly relieved, ‘I...I said h-'he' for the mermaid didn't I? Not…not 'she''. 

Ed ran a hand through his hair and sighed, a smile on his lips.

‘What would I give to live where you are?’ he recited.

Ed’s question had been so quiet it took Oswald a moment to realise he had asked him a question.

‘Is-is this a riddle?’ Oswald asked, confused.

Ed knelt down beside him.  
Oswald felt his face flush as he realised Ed was singing to him.

‘What would I pay, to stay here beside you?’

Oswald knew the words now. Ed wasn’t asking him a riddle.  
He felt his cheeks blush scarlet when he felt Ed’s fingers stroke his cheek. Ed’s voice and eyes were hypnotic: a siren song that he couldn’t resist.  
That he didn’t want to resist.

‘What would I do to see you…’

Ed stopped singing momentarily as Oswald placed his hand over the hand Ed had laid on his cheek, drawing them closer.  
He felt Oswald’s other hand on the back of his neck, the grip firm yet tender.  
He was drawing him closer.

‘…smiling at me?’ Ed finished, eyes flicking downwards bashfully as they slowly closed.

Oswald, seeing Ed’s eyes close, closed his own and felt his heart leap as their lips made contact.  
Ed’s lips were warm and welcoming, a gentle pressure against his own.  
He felt Ed’s hand stray from his cheek to the back of his neck and moaned as he felt Ed’s long, thin fingers ruffle his hair.

Ed, hearing that gorgeous, longing moan and feeling Oswald’s hand squeezing gently as it slipped up his leg, could no longer contain himself.  
He used his tongue to gently part Oswald’s lips and slipped it inside, beginning to taste Oswald properly. 

Oswald, at first startled by Ed’s insistence, was soon aroused by the dominating display and responded with enthusiasm. Before long, their tongues were entwining hungrily, their breaths hurried and desperate like men dying of thirst.  
Oswald felt himself falling back and opened his eyes as his head was laid carefully on the grass.  
Ed was above him, glasses askew and eyes shining in the dying light, his unkempt, desirous demeanour a tantalizing contrast to his usually stiff and uptight exterior. Oswald realized he could get used to seeing Ed in such a commanding position.  
Oswald swallowed.  
Ed was so beautiful.

Ed stroked Oswald’s face again, feeling the heat emanating from those usually pale cheeks and seeing the longing in Oswald’s sharp green eyes. When he saw Oswald was smiling up at him, he didn’t dare move. His legs had turned to jelly. He didn’t dare move in case the spell would break.  
Why had he waited so long to do this? How had he lived without Oswald looking at him like this?  
With such admiration.  
With such love.  
After what seemed like an age, he leant down and pecked Oswald on the cheek. His playfulness was designed to mask his relief and show his giddy happiness. He didn’t care about his dignity.  
He only cared about how he felt. How he could make Oswald feel.

‘Thank you’, Ed whispered shakily, ‘For helping me find my voice’.

Before he could raise himself back up, Oswald coquettishly stole another kiss from his lips.

‘Thank you for helping me learn how to kiss’, Oswald replied teasingly.

As the aquarium fireworks began and the world exploded into colour, Ed lovingly laid his forehead against Oswald’s.

‘Practice makes perfect’, Ed smiled.


End file.
